365 Days of Bowties
by Scarlett Rogue
Summary: Blaine has a huge collection of bowties and some people love to complain about them. But Blaine doesn't care. These bowties mean so much more to him than anyone realizes. Slight Klaine and brother bonding.


**Summary: Blaine has a huge collection of bowties and some people love to complain about them. But Blaine doesn't care. These bowties mean so much more to him than anyone realizes.**

**Rated: T for one bad word**

**Had this idea for a while and thought I'd type it up. I still feel like it needs some work, but this is the best I could do for now. Hope you enjoy!**

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><p>"Dad, I need to talk to you," Blaine said as he sat across from his father. Mr. Anderson had his face buried in a pile of papers and he still had a Bill proposal that he needed to read for tomorrow.<p>

"Can't this wait?" He shuffled some papers and Blaine shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"N-not exactly. Dad, I _really_ need to talk to you." After a few seconds of silence, he added "It won't take long, I promise".

His father took his glasses off and threw them carelessly on top of a stack of papers, sighing loudly as he straightened up in his chair.

"Fine. Proceed."

"Dad...You know I love you and Mom." His father gave a sharp nod and Blaine licked his lips, a nervous habit. "I don't want to hide things from you anymore. I don't want to lie about myself anymore. I'm...I'm gay."

Time seemed to stand still as his father studied him, so many emotions passing through his eyes: hurt, fear, anger, confusion, and finally resolution.

"No, you're not. You're just confused." He picked his glassed up, slid them back on, and lifted the giant book off his desk.

"That's not true, Dad. I know who I am-"

"You said this wouldn't take long," he snapped, promptly shutting his son up. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again. "I don't have time to deal with this right now, Blaine. Please close my door behind you."

Blaine sat there for a few seconds before he got up slowly and left, closing the door gently behind him, but not before he saw a look of utter disappointment on his father's face.

That night Blaine huddled on his bed, feeling empty and confused. He had heard that coming out usually felt liberating, like the person had been set free from their self-imposed silence. He thought that when he told his father he would be able to breathe easier at night, knowing that there were no secrets between them. But he didn't feel that way. He felt like the weight on his shoulders had grown bigger and it was crushing him.

Blaine threw off his blankets and curled into a ball. He felt like the pressure on him was building, but at the same time he felt as if he was coming apart at the seams, like he needed to wrap himself in a tiny ball just to stay in one piece.

He knew it wouldn't be easy. His father was an important man, a Republican Senator who was all about family values. Blaine knew it would be confusing for him, but _this_? He almost wished his father had gotten mad at him. He almost wished that he had called Blaine some horrible name.

This was so much worse. This was his father, his hero, absolutely denying what he was and acting like he hadn't said a word.

Blaine had known that he was different since he was eleven, when all the boys started getting crushes on girls and he only had eyes for his best friend. He had spent years hiding, and now he would be forced to keep hiding, thanks to his father.

Blaine hadn't even realized he was crying until he felt a hand on his shoulder and a finger wipe across his face, catching the stray liquid.

"Blainers, look at me." Blaine pulled himself up and stared into his brother's eyes, eyes that were identical to his father's, and he burst into tears. Daniel pulled him against his chest and wrapped his arms around his baby brother, and Blaine had never been so happy to have his big brother home from college.

"Did you tell him?" Blaine nodded mutely. Daniel lapsed into silence, already having a good idea how their dad reacted.

"I got you something." He pulled away for a few seconds, leaning behind him to the edge of the bed, and came back with a small box. "Open it."

Blaine took hold of the blue box and opened it slowly. He then shifted the bright green paper inside and pulled out a tiny bowtie. He recognized it immediately as the bowtie he had seen over the summer when he and Daniel went to New York. The red fabric had lines of gold throughout it, and at each end held small, fierce lions.

"I'm a Hufflepuff," Blaine laughed weakly as he held the bowtie closer to his lamp.

"You are," his brother nodded thoughtfully. "And I don't for one second believe that crap about Hufflepuff's being cowards. They're very brave. I guess I just thought that you might need a little extra courage over the next few months." He nudged Blaine playfully as his little brother smiled with true happiness.

"Let us hope it isn't the cowardly lion, then," he laughed. He leaned over and hugged his brother right.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"Any time."

O.o.O

Blaine wore his Gryffindor bowtie to school the next day. Even though he was getting weird looks from most of the people he passed, he still felt invincible. He felt like nobody could touch him because his brother had armed him with the courage he needed to survive.

Later that night, as Blaine was trying to get his French homework done, he heard some rustling under his door. When he looked over a bowtie had been shoved under the door. This one was black and pink striped and felt silky under his fingers. Smiling, he placed the bowtie on his desk next to the other one and went back to his homework, unable to get the smile off his face.

And it continued just like that. For the next month Daniel slipped bowties under Blaine's door really late at night, each of them causing a smile to spread across his face. Most of them were fairly normal, not too over the top. Blaine soon discovered that the plain ones - black and yellow polka dots, checkered, and solid colors - were always on weekdays and the unique ones - red with little poodles, old-fashioned thick plaid, and even a sequined bowtie - were reserved for weekends. Each day he wore a different bowtie, and he was reminded that all he needed was some courage to get through his days.

The best ones came when Daniel went back to college in January. His favorites were the Superman comic strip, the piano keys and his "coexist" bowtie. This continued for months, all through the Summer and even when Blaine transferred to Dalton. And Blaine now had an entire section of his closet devoted to bowties.

"Blaine, honey, when did you get all these?" Blaine turned his music down and followed the sound of Kurt's voice, finding him standing in his closet with one hand on his hip, his jaw dropped slightly in surprise. Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist and pulled him close, kissing his cheek and smiling.

"Well, that's an interesting story."

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><p>I don't always speak in memes, but when I do, I ask all my readers to please leave a review.<p>

Thanks for reading!


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